Supreme Court Sides With AFSA, Trades in TCPA Case
In a much-anticipated ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously narrowed the scope of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). AFSA and other trade associations submitted an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to take a more common-sense approach to the TCPA and are pleased with the decision. The Court held that just because a business has calling technology that has the capacity to store and dial multiple numbers, it does not automatically subject that business (and the calls it makes) to TCPA liability.
Importantly, the Facebook v. Duguid ruling is likely to limit the number of class actions brought under the TCPA, but will not eliminate them.
This decision reverses and remands the 9th Circuit decision which expanded the definition of an ATDS. The Supreme Court held that for a device to be considered an ATDS under the TCPA, “it must have the capacity either to store a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator, or to produce a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator.”
April 6th, 2021
